The present invention relates in general to the field of protective devices, and more particularly to a device for protecting the face of a wearer.
Protective devices allow people to live and work in a world that contains many dangerous conditions. For example, medical and dental care professionals are exposed to hazardous infectious pathogens on a daily basis. With the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other deadly diseases, the protection of these professionals from nasal and oral emissions, blood, and the like has become more critical than ever. Because each person's face includes regions of thin and penetrable membranes (e.g., eyes, nose, and mouth), this area is especially susceptible to contamination, and accordingly, should be afforded special protection from airborne contaminants and particulates.
Many face masks and protective devices have been developed in order to provide protection for the facial region. Typically, the devices designed to protect against splashed or sprayed liquids or other materials include a filter medium covering the nose and mouth of a wearer and may also incorporate a visor extending up from the filter medium to shield the wearer's eyes. In such devices, the bottom portion of the wearer's face is covered by the filter medium while the eyes and upper portion of the wearer's face are covered by a separate but attached plastic visor. One advantage of such devices is their integrated nature--one device fulfilling two separate functions.
However, such devices still do not solve all of the problems inherent in facial protection devices. Liquids are frequently sprayed or splashed towards the facial region of a wearer that may sometimes penetrate the layers of a facial mask or filtering medium subjecting the wearer to exposure. Masks and media have been developed which are somewhat successful in solving this problem by utilizing an increased number of layers or merely layers of thicker or treated material. However, such masks may not provide adequate protection for some operating environments and may prove uncomfortable to a wearer. Additionally, extra layers of thicker or treated materials add expense to the production of masks and can be impractical in an environment where disposable masks are required or preferred.
Devices incorporating a plastic visor to cover the upper portion of a wearer's face also fail to protect the wearer's skin exposed beneath the mask, for example, the neck region, from potentially hazardous fluids. This limitation has resulted in the misuse of such devices reducing their effectiveness; for example, a user may wear two devices simultaneously with the mask portions layered and one device upside down so that the inverted visor covers the region below the wearer's chin.
Accordingly, there is a need for an economical integrated device which can effectively shield a wearer from splashing or sprayed liquids and maintain wearer comfort.